Apple Removes Scam App That Led to Hijacked Facebook Ad Accounts

Apple has removed an app that it was unknowingly hosting on the App Store that scammed Facebook advertisers and led hackers to use advertisers' ad budgets to run possibly malicious ads on Facebook's platforms, Business Insider reports.

iOS App Store General Feature Dock 2
The app previously ranked highly on the ‌App Store‌ when searching for "Facebook ads manager," the app used by advertisers to control their presence and ads they're running on the Facebook platform. The app presented itself as the legitimate ads manager for Facebook but was actually a backdoor that let hackers gain access to an account. One employee of an ad agency told Insider they were locked out of their account within just 10 minutes of downloading and logging into the app from Apple's ‌App Store‌.

Apple said that the app was originally submitted to the ‌App Store‌ as a simple document manager with no ties or functionality to the Facebook platform. Apple claimed in a statement to Insider that the app turned malicious after it was approved for the company's platform. Facebook flagged the app to Apple in mid-July, but only after Insider's request for comment to the Cupertino tech giant was the app removed from the platform.

Apple proudly states that the ‌App Store‌ is "a safe and trusted place to discover and download apps," with apps being held to the "highest standards for privacy, security, and content." Apple screens all apps before they're presented for download on the ‌App Store‌. According to the company, over 250,000 apps were rejected for the ‌App Store‌ last year for violating privacy guidelines, with an even larger 1 million apps rejected for possibly harmful and unsafe content.

Despite Apple's efforts, scam apps have remained a problem for the platform. A study last year found that 2% of the top 1000 top paid apps on the ‌App Store‌ at the time were scam apps, with those apps reportedly earning over $1 million in revenue. In a separate instance, a fake bitcoin app scammed its way to gain over $610,000 after being on Apple's platform.

Popular Stories

iPhone 17 Pro Lower Logo Feature 1

iPhone 17 Pro Coming Soon With These 14 New Features

Monday June 30, 2025 1:08 pm PDT by
Apple's next-generation iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are less than three months away, and there are plenty of rumors about the devices. Apple is expected to launch the iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Air, iPhone 17 Pro, and iPhone 17 Pro Max in September this year. Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models:Aluminum frame: iPhone 17 Pro models are rumored to have an...
A18 Pro Chip

New MacBook With A18 Pro Chip Spotted in Apple Code

Monday June 30, 2025 8:05 am PDT by
Apple is developing a MacBook with the A18 Pro chip, according to findings in backend code uncovered by MacRumors. Earlier today, Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo reported that Apple is planning to launch a low-cost MacBook powered by an iPhone chip. The machine is expected to feature a 13-inch display, the A18 Pro chip, and color options that include silver, blue, pink, and yellow. MacRumors...
iPhone Car Key WWDC 2025

Apple Announces 13 Automakers Planning to Offer iPhone Car Keys

Friday June 27, 2025 11:42 am PDT by
In 2020, Apple added a digital car key feature to its Wallet app, allowing users to lock, unlock, and start a compatible vehicle with an iPhone or Apple Watch. The feature is currently offered by select automakers, including Audi, BMW, Hyundai, Kia, Genesis, Mercedes-Benz, Volvo, and a handful of others, and it is set to expand further. During its WWDC 2025 keynote, Apple said that 13...
maxresdefault

Five Features Coming to AirPods Pro 3

Friday June 27, 2025 10:52 am PDT by
Apple hasn't updated the AirPods Pro since 2022, and the earbuds are due for a refresh. We're counting on a new model this year, and we've seen several hints of new AirPods tucked away in Apple's code. Rumors suggest that Apple has some exciting new features planned that will make it worthwhile to upgrade to the latest model. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. Heal...
macbook air spacegray purple

Apple Planning to Launch Low-Cost MacBook Powered By iPhone Chip

Monday June 30, 2025 3:20 am PDT by
Apple is planning to launch a low-cost MacBook powered by an iPhone chip, according to Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo. In an article published on X, Kuo explained that the device will feature a 13-inch display and the A18 Pro chip, making it the first Mac powered by an iPhone chip. The A18 Pro chip debuted in the iPhone 16 Pro last year. To date, all Apple silicon Macs have contained M-series...
anker power bank recall

PSA: Anker Recalls Multiple Power Banks Due to Fire Risk

Friday June 27, 2025 4:16 pm PDT by
Popular accessory maker Anker this month launched two separate recalls for its power banks, some of which may be a fire risk. The first recall affects Anker PowerCore 10000 Power Banks sold between June 1, 2016 and December 31, 2022 in the United States. Anker says that these power banks have a "potential issue" with the battery inside, which can lead to overheating, melting of plastic...
Chase Sapphire Reserve Apple Perk Feature

Chase Sapphire Reserve Card Introduces New Perk for Apple Customers

Wednesday June 25, 2025 2:08 pm PDT by
Chase this week announced a series of new perks for its premium Sapphire Reserve credit card, and one of them is for a pair of Apple services. Specifically, the credit card now offers complimentary annual subscriptions to Apple TV+ and Apple Music, a value of up to $250 per year. If you are already paying for Apple TV+ and/or Apple Music directly through Apple, those subscriptions will...
replay all time playlist apple music

Apple Music Debuts All-New Personalized Playlist

Monday June 30, 2025 7:16 am PDT by
As part of its 10-year celebrations of Apple Music, Apple today released an all-new personalized playlist that collates your entire listening history. The playlist, called "Replay All Time," expands on Apple Music's existing Replay features. Previously, users could only see their top songs for each individual calendar year that they've been subscribed to Apple Music, but now, Replay All...

Top Rated Comments

goaliemn Avatar
38 months ago
You can get Malware and hacked even without side loading. Great job.
Score: 35 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Piplodocus Avatar
38 months ago
If I'm gonna load an app from the internet I'm always sure be very careful to work out where it came from and how trustworthy the developer is. If I get it from the App Store I'd presume Apple have done that for me.

So good work again Apple for saying it's far too unsafe to let people load whatever apps you like on your iPhone/iPad, and justifying the app store as the only safe way to allow them, while hosting scams again and seemingly after being flagged, doing nothing about it until the media are going to shame you. ??‍♂️
Score: 28 Votes (Like | Disagree)
hagar Avatar
38 months ago
We should be mad at the scammers, not Apple. It’s like being mad at the police because people still get murdered.

I rather have a store where 1.25M scam apps are being removed annually than no safeguards at all.
Score: 19 Votes (Like | Disagree)
4743913 Avatar
38 months ago
"But don't worry, we are extra careful in keeping those evil emulators out of the AppStore" -Apple
Score: 19 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Dan From Canada Avatar
38 months ago
And this is from Apples famously safed app store?
Score: 13 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Spaceboi Scaphandre Avatar
38 months ago

You can get Malware and hacked even without side loading. Great job.
THIS IS WHAT I KEEP TELLING PEOPLE!

Everything Apple says about sideloading is a lie to keep total control, stamping out competition, and maximize profits so there's absolutely zero reason to not have an optional sideloading toggle for those who want it.



Edit: And to those who keep disliking this post, see for yourself: Scam apps have figured out how to trick the App Store review team and it's getting worse. You are not immune to bad actors with the absence of sideloading like you think you are https://9to5mac.com/2022/08/04/fraudulent-chinese-apps-mac-app-store/
Score: 13 Votes (Like | Disagree)